The actual participants in the study were responding to fictional dilemmas as well; why should we assume that LW readers would “actually not do it” and the participants would?
I don’t think most of the study participants would do it either; I’m sure most of their statements are also driven by signaling, not a realistic appraisal of what they would really do. I merely hypothesize that in a more representative sample of the general population (and just of an undergraduate student population) this proportion, while still large, is somewhat lower than among LW participants.
The actual participants in the study were responding to fictional dilemmas as well; why should we assume that LW readers would “actually not do it” and the participants would?
I don’t think most of the study participants would do it either; I’m sure most of their statements are also driven by signaling, not a realistic appraisal of what they would really do. I merely hypothesize that in a more representative sample of the general population (and just of an undergraduate student population) this proportion, while still large, is somewhat lower than among LW participants.